POSTER DEVELOPMENT
After I did the necessary research on poster designs and conventions, I began to plan my own poster, I started by taking some notes on what elements, colours, etc. should be potentially featured on the poster.
The notes and research that I have collected will be very useful when developing ideas for the posters I want to create. It will act as a more than necessary reminder for what colours, themes and elements to feature within my posters because I have based my notes on the research I previously carried out. Because of this, they will be extremely effective and draw the necessary attention.
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After creating this mind map, I began creating quick, low quality designs that related to the ideas I came up with on the mind map. Creating ideas so quickly is good practice sometimes in graphic design because if you have created an idea quickly and it does the intended job effectively while being minimal, that means it will most likely work well as a fully designed poster as long as it remains minimalistic.
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Below are some of the poster ideas that I came up with, inspired also by Frank Faver Verlizzo and poster style.
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The most important thing I considered when it came to all of the poster ideas was the colours. The colours I chose looked nothing like the colours I intended to use but as these ideas were never actually intended to be shown to anyone, I could visualise how the colours would eventually look without having to worry how they would be perceived. Of course bright colours were necessary to consider when it comes to the sky, sea or seaside houses, but contrast is also very important to consider because it can be used to highlight the most important details in the poster, drawing attention to them.
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Below is the poster idea I ended up choosing.
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I decided on this poster for a few reasons. Of course, the bus is where the characters spend the majority of the play, it is a vey big theme and it is also one of the first things to be introduced in the play so it is something the audience will be familiar with when they go to watch the performance. I intended for the coach to be red and the backdrop to be a darker blue to create a contrast that would highlight the bus. The research showed that the audience expect elements that would reflect a trip somewhere or a day out and I think this is another reason why it was a good idea to show a bus on the road, travelling somewhere. Something that I knew would be important to keep in mind would be the amount of detail included and how it is distributed. It is important to think about what details will be worth including, details that are smaller can go missing when the poster is printed, small gaps such as grate lines can merge when the size of the poster is made smaller or shared on social media. Furthermore, it is important to put the most detail at the front in order to show perspective between the bus and the sky behind it. For example, if I were to include clouds in the sky, it would be best to make them thinner and more transparent whereas the bus should include more shadows and texture.
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From this poster idea, I created the following poster.
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This poster came with many challenges but it has been a great opportunity to try a style I wouldn't usually create. There are also many new design principles that I have learned that I got the opportunity to put into practice, while I think I displayed these effectively, there are some things that I would definitely do differently next time.
I started by creating a gradient for the background of the poster to add depth. I did this by creating a rectangle shape using the shape tool, I then selected the colour tool on the side and selected the gradient option within it. I picked a vertical gradient and selected a darker blue for the top and a lighter, complementary shade of blue for the bottom. I believe this was a good idea because it saved the poster from being too simple to the point of being boring and too solid. However, I think next time I would pick a lighter colour for the top of the gradient because it has been said that it could be perceived as nighttime. Although I don't necessarily see that myself, I do understand people saying that it doesn't reflect the typical colour of a British sky, it looks more like an American sky.
I then searched the internet for a picture of the bus that I had in mind for the poster. It was important to find a bus that was facing forward and not slightly off to the side because it would look extremely out of place if it was curving off on a road that was facing the viewer. The bus I picked did look good on the poster, however, I feel like it would've been better to pick a coach or one that looks less like a public bus because I feel like it would more signify a school trip if the bus looked a little more exclusive. I think I could have achieved this vintage coach look by adding cream-coloured stripes along the bus. However, It could be seen as a positive choice because of how recognisable the bus is.
I started to draw over the picture of the bus using the curved and regular pen tools. I made sure to separate the layers because keeping the layers organised makes it easier to go back and correct or change anything that doesn't look right later on in the design. I started by drawing the very basic details, the red of the bus and the windows. This made it easier to visualise where the smaller details should go and how many of the details from the photo should remain in the illustration. I made sure to keep increasing the opacity periodically to see if the design was still looking how I would like it to.
It was important to include as much necessary detail as possible on the bus so that it stood out more from the background. Choosing a white border is something I feel was a very good choice because it being paired with red and blue is extremely contrasting and contrast can be used to draw people's attention to necessary details. Red and blue are complimentary and because of this, they create a vibrant, positive effect.
I began to add shading, however, this shading was based on the shading from the photo so I decided not to include it. However, there are techniques such as using a circle with lines to help simulate where lighting is coming from in an illustration to help visualise where the shading should go while you are creating the product which I should consider for next time to further improve my designs.
When it came to presenting the information such as the title, location and price, I did quite a good job. The information was presented in a uniform order and easily understandable. However, there are things I could've improved on that I didn't consider. Shortly after creating the poster, I learned about the concept of a river in typography. This is when there is a gap between the lettering that causes it to seem separated. Because of this, the information is seen by most people as separate rather than being received as one piece of information. I could have used the letter spacing tool to bring the text closer together which would solve this. In the future, I will be sure to take the typography into more consideration as it is just as important as the other elements in the design. I believe that I had the right idea with making the text that says "out" red. Red is what I intended to be the main colour within the poster that attracts the viewer to the most essential information, my intention was to draw the viewer to the text by making part of it red, which in a way backfired because all it does is put unnecessary emphasis on the word "out". It probably would have been better to instead use elements such as a red underline or lines on the side of the text to bring attention to the text. In the future, I intend to think more outside the box with the ways of presenting important information as I understand it will help me progress exponentially as a graphic designer.
Although I have been quite critical of myself, I believe I did quite a good job. The fact that my poster was selected to advertise one of the performances further solidified my confidence. The poster does all of the things I hoped it would in one way or another while being simplistic and minimal. I did well in using colour and detail distribution in a way that will make the poster gain the attention of bypassers. However, there are things such as typography and arrangement that I need to consider when I make a poster like this again because it will make the poster much more attractive and easier to understand.
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I consider the task as a success. The research I conducted significantly contributed to the creation of the final poster, resulting in a visually appealing and informative final product. I acknowledge that there's room for improvement, and I've learned from the mistakes I made during this process, which will help me do better in future projects.
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The use of a mind map was effective as it played a vital role in creating ideas for the poster and provided a structured guideline for organizing the poster's elements and colours. However, I believe it's worth exploring different methods of note-taking to determine if there's a more efficient approach for me. While the mind map worked well, I'll be open to trying alternative methods in future projects.
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My approach to poster planning was effective because it allowed me to visualize the potential outcomes of each poster idea. Timing myself during this phase ensured that I could quickly identify standout concepts for further development. In the future, I may consider focusing on detailed elements, such as colour, shading, and patterns, during the planning stage, as these elements might turn out better than initially invisioned. Perhaps I'll experiment with selecting one key element from each poster idea and further developing it to decide if it is effective enough.
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The poster I chose to develop further was well-received, particularly due to the significant theme of the bus, which will be recognisable to the audience and contributed to its selection for social media and hallway display. I believe I did a good job considering important design principles, such as colour theory and the placement and distribution of details. However, I recognize the need to focus more on typography principles in future projects and commit to improving my knowledge in this area.
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Comparing the final poster to my initial notes, it's evident that the poster closely aligns with my original ideas and intentions. The tagline successfully created a sense of mystery, but I recognize that an object element could be even more effective, which I will incorporate in future projects. Despite this, the poster was very similar to the plan in many ways, using colour as intended and including elements crucial to the narrative.
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Overall, I'm satisfied with the outcome of the project but acknowledge areas for improvement, particularly in typography and the development of specific design elements during the planning phase. I look forward to applying these lessons in future projects to achieve even better results.
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